Free access to Findmypast.ie to celebrate Irish Family History Day

Sean and Sheila O'Kiersey from Deansgrange, Co Dublin, explore their family history on Findmypast.ie with their daughter and grandchildren. Image courtesy of Conor McCabe Photography

Findmypast Ireland recently grew its pile of birth, marriage and death records by 50pc and tomorrow will allow free access to the site in honour of its inaugural Irish Family History Day.

A joint venture between Eneclann, an award-winning Irish history and heritage company, and the Findmypast network of websites that began in the UK and has now spread to the US, Australia and New Zealand, Findmypast Ireland is an online Irish genealogy service with records dating from the mid-1800s to the late 1950s.

Recently, the site added 21m birth, marriage and death certificates to its records, bringing the total number to more than 60m.

Tomorrow, 24 January, the site will open up these records to visitors for free as part of a promotion of its first Irish Family History Day, which it hopes will become an annual event. A promo code will be released tomorrow to grant curious family researchers access to the vast collection of records.

The event is also being promoted in the US, the UK, Australia and Canada, tying in with 2013’s year-long celebration of all things Irish. “With so much attention on Ireland due to The Gathering Ireland, our website will prove a very useful source for the many millions of people with Irish ancestry around the world,” said Cliona Weldon, general manager of Findmypast Ireland.